The Best Nest

Having our house on the market makes me feel like I have personally stumbled back into the dating scene in a bad way,even though it’s my house and not me that’s up for bids. First, my thoughtless suitor often calls with little notice wanting to know if he can come over, eats my snacks (yep, happened), and leaves me with nothing but the smell of his cologne and a phone number that isn’t even his direct line. I sit and wonder why he didn’t stay longer. Am I not beautiful or charming? Do I not have the square footage those other homes boast? Do I…smell like my dog? After a showing, I sit with my box wine and fret over why he’s not calling. Is he just using me for my free goldfish crackers (no really people, it totally happened!) or is he spending all his time –and money– on another house?

The biggest problem I’m facing with this process is not even the fact that I have walking, talking mess-makers, but the fact that I have no control over anything. When my realtor held an open house, I wasn’t there to point out all the positives about the neighborhood which I know to be true. I couldn’t overt their gazes beyond what was lacking and toward what I know to be the best attributes of my home. Twice now, Jeff has stopped me from texting our agent to tell her “one more thing” I forgot to mention! Unfortunately, we lack the square footage to even put us on the map for a lot of buyers. We’re just shy of 2000 square feet. In this area and price range, buyers are likely starting their searches at the 2k mark, thus missing out on what I believe to be a gem of a house.

So why am I moving, you ask? Well, we’re outgrowing our britches unfortunately. Our house is perfectly fine and suitable for a family of 4 or 5, but the pantry is downright tiny. Because we are the type of family who cooks far more than we eat out, we need a larger pantry. There’s also an issue of housing values. The prices in this neighborhood and area have really taken a dive lately, while other areas seem to be noticeably picking up steam in the last year. With my husband’s bonus, our newfound freedom from consumer debt, and the nice chunk of equity we’ve built up just living in our home, now is definitely the time to buy…if ever. I say “if ever” because my oldest is in middle school. We have read and heard many times that you should definitely not make a big move once your children are in high school. Socially, it’s just too much and I have to agree.

The area we are lusting after happens to be near one of the best high schools (and elementary and middle schools) in the state. Now if only we could sell our house and then find the best nest ever in the area we love all at the same time. My fairy godmother, aka my realtor, one of those cool people that never freaks out about anything, assures me that it will all fall into place as if by magic. She tells me not to worry my pretty little head, though my head is on the large side, and then reminds me that there will be plenty of houses available for my choosing once mine is sold and I’m…essentially homeless. EEEE! Someone get me my box wine!

Until then, I will continue to check my phone for texts from my potential suitors every ten seconds like a psychopath, take 3 minute showers (what if I miss a call??), and yell at my children for, shame, going to the bathroom before a showing. What? Couldn’t he have held it until we got to McDonalds?

20 Comments

Both selling and buys houses can be stressful. I know our old neighbors bought their new place before selling their old place and almost lost both houses due to not being able to see the original house.
They got REALLY lucky and ended up selling it to the department of defense for exactly what they wanted.

I know buying our house was stressful, I could not even imagine selling one right now. Now that we have kids it just seems impossible to me to be able to sell a house, but I hear you on outgrowing it. What was a great house for us with three people is not so much with five.

I don’t miss those days at all. On paper it all seems pretty simple, but when you get into the thick of things, every viewing becomes a cause for stress. Every for sale sign in the mile radius becomes cause for concern. Good luck, I hope it goes quickly. Things do seem to be picking up now, so hopefully it won’t take long.

I haven’t ever sold a house but I bet it is stressful, especially with kids. We are almost finished buying our second house but we will be renting out our first house. It just makes a lot more financial sennae for us because we can rent it out for much more than our cost.

We bought a rental property we were actually renting so it worked out well. We plan to keep the rental when we buy another house so i hope that will alleviate some of the stress. Never fun buying or selling a house.

Selling a home can definitely be a challenging. We had a condo that we were trying to sell a few years back and it was a nightmare. We even had a great Realtor, but it was just a tough market at that time.

I used to work as a real estate assistant back in college. The problem is that when another realtor (not yours) is showing your house, you don’t know what they will say, and they may not know all of the great things you’ve told your realtor. If there is something you really feel strongly about conveying, you may consider putting together a book/binder on the house to leave next to the goldfish or out in the open so people can see it. We used to highlight past utility bills so people knew how much they cost, info on the schools surrounding, and great restaurants or attractions in the area…Just a thought…

What a funny comparison, love the first paragraph. Its definitely a good idea to move and change your kids schools before they enter middle school. Thats certainly when they find their group of friends who will become best friends into their teenage years. It is upsetting that you fall in that square foot range, but hopefully your realtor will work her magic!

Good luck on selling the house! Have you had a lot of interest? I love real estate shows – hopefully one of these days I’ll be able to incorporate some of that knowledge into my very own home-buying process.

We put our house on the market six years ago and it was so stressful keeping it “always” show ready. The worst part was the inconsiderate realtors who’d just show up with their clients while we were in the middle of cooking dinner or something. We’d let them in, but those are not the showings that generated offers.

I honestly can’t imagine the stress of selling a house. I even felt bad for hte family that had this beautiful little house who we went to for a second look. Unfortunately, it was really only a two bedroom house with a closet for a third bedroom in the basement. They spent so much time it looked like making it all nice and presentable. Instead, we went with another house. I am not looking forward to the day that we sell our home, mainly because we bought one that we plan on putting a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into (lots of projects…). I am sure yours will sell just fine and you will move into the house of your dreams before you know it!

I can’t believe they ate your goldfish crackers. I’d feel downright violated if I let someone into my house and they just helped themselves like that I wish you the best of luck. *fingers crossed* someone will realize what potential your house holds and makes the jump.

What an interesting process, I have never known what it’s like on the other side. I wonder if the people we bought our house from felt the same way. Also, once you sell, are you going to rent or buy right away?

Ah, this agony sounds vaguely familiar (although no one nibbled on our food). We put our house for sale a few years ago and your analogy of a date go wrong sounds pretty accurate! You notice that smudge on the counter and hope they don’t. Then wonder why they spend all their time looking at this when they should be looking at this. I have no doubt that your home will sell and you’ll be drinking box wine in your new home in no time!

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